Hi there,
It is the month of March and up here in the Northern hemisphere we are waiting for some warmer weather. Warmer weather means fewer layers of clothing and fewer layers of clothing means some of us becoming body conscious.
Now if you are fat or overweight or obese AND HAPPY with your weight then read no more as this is not for you. However, if you are not and want to know more, then do read on….
I get asked, ‘why am I fat?’ when I eat well, or exercise, or detox once a month etc etc……well there are several reasons…
Food
Hormonal health
Medications
Emotional/Mental wellbeing
Movement
Stress
FOOD: You would think, this is pretty obvious but it is not. Some of us are so confused as to what is actually healthy and what is not that nutrition itself can be the reason. The low-fat DIEt is one of the prime causes of being overweight/fat/obese. Calories do not count when it comes to well being. They count if you are looking for a short fix without the long-term health benefits. If you want to know more about what to eat and when then have a look into my e-course.
HORMONAL HEALTH: is a common cause of weight issues, especially thyroid imbalances and the menopause or the andropause. You just have to look at the side effects of the Birth Control Pill (BCP) and you will see weight gain on the list. Hormones, whether they are natural or synthetic can cause weight gain.
MEDICATIONS: As mentioned above the BCP, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), steroids, anti-depressants, antibiotics..these are all known to impact weight. BUT did you know most medications put stress on the liver, such as the average painkiller like tylenol, paracetamol, aspirin, etc? Putting stress on this rather impressive organ can increase the body’s toxic burden which can result in an increase in toxins in the body. Where are these toxins stored to keep the rest of the body ‘safe’ from their harmful effects? They are stored in fat cells and these fat cells can increase in size as well as in number to accommodate these toxins. Isn’t this body of yours amazing? The other side effect of medications in relation to weight is that some medications deplete nutrients from the body. Quite a few medications deplete the B vitamins which are absolutely vital for energy production. So what happens if you are low in energy? You may want to eat more to try and increase energy but this creates a vicious cycle that can result in weight gain. Other medications are known to deplete chromium which is key in blood sugar balance. If your blood sugar is not balanced then your body tends to ‘crave’ high sugar foods. Do you see how medications can result in weight gain?
EMOTIONAL/MENTAL WELLBEING: this may be pretty obvious to some but not to others. When your neurotransmitters (chemicals that are affected when one ‘feels’ the lows and highs) are out of balance then we can reach out for food for comfort, because food can help to fill in that ’emptiness’. I call it SELF SOOTHING WITH FOOD. Have you ever seen a toddler self-soothing by sucking his/her thumb or holding onto a blanket and rubbing it? They are self-soothing, they know exactly how to make themselves feel ‘good’. Somewhere, we lose that gift of self-soothing. Now, I am not suggesting you start to suck your thumb or invest in a comfort blanket, but it is important to be aware that as adults, most of us grow up losing that innate capacity to self-soothe in a healthy way. So we can end up self-soothing with food but this form of self-soothing does not last and can have other side-effects such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, anxiety, cancer etc. By the way, this self-soothing can be in the form of binge eating, or glass or two of wine every evening, a so-called ‘treat’ like a large chocolate bar because we deserve it after a hard day’s work. Ask yourself, ‘why am I eating/drinking this?’ ‘How does it make me feel?’ This is a subject that I am passionate about and I use various remedies to help with issues ‘self-soothing’.
MOVEMENT: This is a pretty obvious one like food, but sometimes we forget this. From my own experience in clinic, clients tend to say ‘I don’t have time’ or they squeeze in a few months worth of movement and then it goes by the wayside. Do you know we are born to move? Movement is key for so many reasons, from heart health, mental health, fitness, communication, creativity to name a few. Movement also keeps the lymph moving which is vital for wellbeing as it helps those toxins to exit the body, remember you don’t want toxins to build up as they love fat.
STRESS: Stress seems to be such a burden in the 21st century. The only time we are supposed to be stressed is when our life is literally in danger and we have to ‘run for our lives’. This is called the ‘fight or flight’ response. I cover this in detail in my e-course, as it is key for not only weight issues but overall wellbeing. When we are in ‘fight or flight’ we are not feeling safe. Feeling safe is of utmost importance for our wellbeing. When we are stressed (and it does not matter whether this stress is real or perceived, your body will react physiologically in the same way) your body initially produces adrenaline and this should be enough to allow you to ‘fight or run’ for your life. However, in today’s society, the stress tends to be longterm, in other words, it is not a ‘life or death’ situation. For example, the following are not ‘life or death’ situations, going to work with a boss that does not really understand you and yet you ‘have to’ pay your bills, there is the mortgage/rent, school fees, new car, holidays, a deadline for that project. So what happens? Your body gave you some adrenaline for a few minutes (so you could run for your life) but you can’t run from these, so a hormone called cortisol takes over, your own steroid (sounds like cortisone and it is, but your natural steroid made by your body). What do steroids do? They increase weight! So yes stress can lead to weight gain.
So this may explain being fat. My work, entails looking at all these, the WHOLE you. Your nutritional intake your emotional well being, your movements, your lifestyle, your self-soothing habits (these in themselves can become addictions) so food is one aspect of why we are fat.
I use various tools in my practice, from nutrition, homeopathy, homeobotannicals and my e-course to help you achieve your health goals. Feel free to contact me if you would like to book in for a session or sign up for the next e-course, I look forward to hearing from you.
To Health!
Khush
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